Minister to visit successful Dumfries and Galloway Youth Justice Service
Written by Kevin Rennie on August 13, 2013
Aileen Campbell MSP, Minister for Children and Young People, will visit Dumfries and Galloway on the 14 August to see and hear about the practice of the Youth Justice Service. The visit will have a particular focus on the successful implementation of our Early and Effective Intervention services including the Multi-Agency Case Progression Group and Diversion from Prosecution Service. The Minister will also have the opportunity to find out more about the successful Mentoring Service here that supports over 50 young people at any given time.
Lindsay Abrines, Locality Reporter Manager (SCRA) and chair of the Youth Justice Partnership, said, “I see this visit by the Minister for Children and Young People as recognition of the continuing success of the Youth Justice Strategy and related practice in Dumfries and Galloway.
“This success is achieved through effective multi-agency working at a strategic and service level and I am sure that the Minister will gain some insight in how we go about getting it right for young people who are involved in offending and antisocial behaviour.”
Aileen Campbell, Minister for Children and Young People, said:
“Most young people in Scotland are a credit to their communities. While youth crime is falling, we know some young people fall through the cracks and get involved in crime or antisocial behaviour. We must do all we can to steer these young people in the right direction in life.
“Early intervention is the key to this. The evidence shows that such an approach is not only beneficial for the young person involved, but also for their communities. Here in Dumfries and Galloway, it’s an approach which is clearly working well and having a positive effect on local communities.”
Dumfries and Galloway continues to lead the way in reducing offending, ensuring that it continues to be one of the safest places to live in Scotland. This is reflected in relation to Youth Crime where between 2008/09 and 2011/12 there was a 49% reduction in Youth Crime in Dumfries and Galloway. This reduction, while part of a positive national trend, compares favourably to a national reduction of 32% for the same period.
The number of offence referrals to the Children’s Reporter has also continued to fall. SCRA has reported a fall from 874 (2008/09) to 307 (2011/12) in Dumfries and Galloway which is a reduction of 64.9%. Nationally the number of offence referrals during this period has also fallen from 26251 to 12831 which is a 51.1% reduction.
Our Youth Justice Partnership believes that this success is due to continued multi-agency working, including the development of a Multi-Agency Youth Justice Strategy and associated Youth Justice Service. The 2009/12 Youth Justice Strategy has continued to see Dumfries and Galloway at the forefront of the implementation of the ‘Whole System Approach’ as set out by the Scottish Government. This has allowed us to continue to develop preventative and early intervention approaches to support many young and provide the best possible opportunity to turn away from crime.
Through the implementation of the 2013 to 2017 Youth Justice Strategy, the Youth Justice Partnership will consolidate the existing practice and continue to implement the ‘Whole System Approach’. The implementation of this new strategy will be underpinned by our community pledge and related actions.
